Simba/Main article
Simba is the main character in the Lion King series. The son of Mufasa and Sarabi, his childhood is perfect and spoiled with the prospect of beig king of Pride Rock until Scar murders his dad. After running away and being found by Timon and Pumbaa, Simba returns to take his place as king. With his mate Nala, he fathers children to rule after him. Appearance As a young cub, Simba was golden-brown, with a tuft of fur on his head. He would move his eyebrows occasionally as a child, appearing a little haughty. In his teenage, adolescent years he grew a small mane around his head, but had a conceited expression, even more so than as a youth. Now an adult, Simba is handsome and well-built, showing a pleasant downward smile at times, though he became more mature in Lion King after he had talked to his father's image. In his childhood, he would show a cheesy smile whenever joking or in trouble, and he even kept that in his adulthood, playing with Kiara. Personality Rambunctious is the word to describe cub Simba. He’s curious, adventurous, and all too ready to become king and boss people around. And he’s got a great singing voice. Of course, having your father suddenly die in a stampede doesn’t help much. He runs away, literally and emotionally, from the Pridelands, and picks up a happy, carefree lifestyle. As a teenager, he’s not too much different, but is a little more “cool”, I guess. When responsibility creeps up on him and he reacts accordingly, he learns of the busy life kings have, but in attempt to emulate his father, does a good job of it. But after the mess of Scar killing Mufasa and Zira killing Kopa (as fans usually believe), Simba is left being distrustful of strangers and overprotective of his loved ones. His prejudice against Scar’s followers causes trouble, and only when a new lesson from his daughter comes his way does he really become a complete king. Information The Lion King ]] In the beginning of his adventure, Simba is an infant curled up in his mother's paws during the royal ceremony greetig all of the king's and queen's cubs. For the ceremony, Rafiki the baboon shakes a gourd over Simba's head, which he playfully paws at before Rafiki then cracks it open to make a red mark on Simba's forehead. He sprinkles sand on the newborn's head, causing baby Simba to sneeze and his parents to smile. Rafiki picks him up and presents Simba to the animals and his future kingdom (in the movie, the classic "Circle of Life" is playing to the ritual. Simba grows into a lively playful cub. Waking up one morning at dawn, he continually pesters his father to take him up to the summit of Pride Rock by pulling his ear and headbutting him to wake him up. As Mufasa opens a sleepy eye, a disgruntled Simba says "You promised!" After both Mufasa and Sarabi are awake, Simba and his father climb to the top of Pride Rock, where Mufasa explains to his son that everything the light touches is their kingdom, and after his passing, Simba's. The cub questions the "shadowy place", and Mufasa explains that it is beyond their borders, so he must never go there. His father takes him walking through the Pridelands and Mufasa tells Simba about the "great Circle of Life"; that is, when lions die their bodies become the grass, and then the antelope eat the grass, who in turn are eaten by the lions. As they are walking, Zazu, Mufasa's advisor, gives the king the morning report, but an uninterested Simba pounces on a bug. When he misses, Mufasa tells Zazu to turn around and instructs Simba on how to pounce properly. Simba succeeds in pinning down Zazu. As Zazu is on his back, a mole pops up and tells Zazu and Mufasa there are dangerous hyenas in the Pridelands. The alpha lion Mufasa leaves to deal with the threat, not letting Simba come with him. Grumpily, Simba returns to Pride Rock to find his uncle Scar. He gleefully informs Scar that he's gonna be King of Pride Rock, irritating Scar, who unenthusiastically replies, "Oh goody". Simba doesn't get the hint, and his uncle eventually asks him whether his brother showed him what lies beyond the northern border; Simba admits that he didn't, and Scar acts relieved, saying only the bravest of lions go there. Objecting, Simba says he's brave and demands to know what's there. "Accidentally on purpose," Scar lets slip that it's an elephant graveyard, aware that Simba's curiosity will lead him there. Simba is excited at the prospect of an adventure, but promises his uncle that he won't visit that 'dreadful place'. On the contrary, Simba goes to his best friend Nala, who is being bathed by her mother Sarafina opposite his own mother, Sarabi. Simba tries to get Nala to accompany him somewhere, without giving away the location of their adventure. When questioned by Sarabi, Simba unconvicingly tells her, "the waterhole". Sarabi knows there is a reason behind their secrecy and asks Zazu to accompany the two cubs. On the way to the waterhole, Zazu explains to Simba and Nala that they are "betrothed". Simba and Nala are disgusted at the whole idea, and hatch a plan to ditch Zazu. After their plan succeeds (the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King"), they tumble into the elephant graveyard; after a quick exploration, Zazu catches up with the two cubs before finding themselves face to face with three hyenas. Simba tries to be brave in front of the hyenas, but realises that he's in danger. After a frantic effort to escape, Zazu alerts Mufasa, who saves the two cubs. On the way back to Pride Rock, Mufasa explains to Simba that he's very disapointed in him. Simba tells his father that he was trying to be brave like him. Mufasa then tells Simba about the "Great Kings of the Past" who look down from the stars. He also tells Simba that whenever he feels alone, the stars will always be there to guide him—and so will he. The next day, Scar takes Simba with him to the Gorge. He tells Simba that his father has a "marvelous surprise" for him. Simba pleads with his uncle to tell him what it is. Scar refuses, then walks away after telling him to practise his "little roar". Unknown to Simba, Scar has told his three hyenas to start a wildebeest stampede chasing the bovines down into the gorge below. Simba practises his roar; as he roars louder than usual, the wildebeest charge down the cliff face in the direction of Simba. Terrified, Simba runs for his life. Meanwhile, Scar informs Mufasa that Simba is trapped in a stampede in the gorge. Immediately, Mufasa runs to save his son. Simba manages to jump onto a branch and clings to it desperately as the wildebeest thunder below him. Just as Mufasa arrives, a wildebeest collides with the branch Simba is holding onto, breaking it. Mufasa, scared for his son's life, launches himself into the stampede. As he battles against the oncoming wildebeest, the branch that Simba is holding onto snaps. Simba is thrown into the air. When Mufasa catches him in the mouth, he then tries to get his son into safety, but collides with a wildebeest, throwing Simba from his mouth. Simba cowers as the wildebeest stampede around him, before being picked up again by Mufasa. Mufasa manages to place his son safely on a rock out of the stampede, before being dragged back into the stampede again. Simba anxiously watches for any sign of his father among the wildebeest. Just as he starts to get nervous, Mufasa launches himself out of the stampede and climbs the cliff-face. Seeing this, Simba turns around and makes his way to the top of the cliff. As he reaches the top, all he sees is his father plummeting into the stampede below. Simba cries out, and then races down to the bottom of the gorge. Once the wildebeest have passed, there he finds his father father's body lying under the branch he was clinging to. Hoping that his father isn't dead, he playfully tries to revive him. When he realises that Mufasa is not waking up, he runs around the gorge calling for help. After he knows that no one will come, he starts to cry, burying himself under his father's forepaw. Scar then approaches Simba and convinces him that he is responsible for the death of the king. When Scar asks Simba what his mother would make of this, Simba asks his uncle what he should do. Scar tells Simba to run away and never return. As he does so, the hyenas approach Scar. He commands them to kill Simba. As he runs, Simba realises that the way through the gorge is blocked; he begins to panic as he realises that the hyenas are following him. He runs up some rocks and comes out at the top of a steep cliff. Below him is a field of sharp thorns. As the hyenas follow him, Simba has no choice but to jump down the cliff. He tumbles down and luckily lands in a bare patch where there are no thorns. The hyenas don't want to follow, convinced that Simba is as good as dead out in the desert anyway. Tired and dehydrated. Simba wanders into the desert. In the burning heat, he eventually faints. Vultures circle over his head, waiting for him to die; but a meerkat named Timon and a warthog named Pumbaa stumble across the helpless cub. They revive him and ask him if he's okay. Simba shakily replies, then starts to wander off. The two friends ask Simba what he did, but Simba doesn't want to talk about it. Timon and Pumbaa teach Simba to forget his past and live under the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata". Although he only appears for a couple of seconds, you can see Teen Simba in the transistion between him being a cub to an adult as he walks across the log near the end of "Hakuna Matata". Simba grows up in the jungle with Timon and Pumbaa and learns to be worry-free. Although happy in the jungle, a homesick Simba feels saddened when stargazing with his friends, and recalls what his father told him all those years ago. He gets more upset when Timon makes a comment about "killing him" with laughter, mocking the Great Kings of the Past. Simba stands up and flops down on the rock, unhappy and wishing that his father was still alive. Shortly after, Simba hears his two friends calling for help in the jungle; he immediately rushes to their aid and finds himself face-to-face with an angry lioness. After the lioness easily flips Simba onto his back, he recognises her as his childhood friend Nala. They rejoice, and Nala tells Simba that he's the rightful King. Simba rejects his responsibility and refuses to go back. Still plagued with the guilt of killing his father, he comforts Nala as she struggles with the reality of him being alive after all those years, and the two lions realise that their friendship has now blossomed into love. That evening, Nala tries to persuade Simba to go back again. He refuses, which leads to an argument. Simba marches away from Nala and yells to the sky, "You said you would always be there for me! But you're not... it's because of me. It's my fault." As he says this, Simba notices a baboon singing in a tree. In an attempt to get away from him Simba walks away and lies on a branch over a small stream. As he gazes at his reflection, a stone plops in front of him, thrown by the monkey. Simba irritatedly asks him to "cut it out". After the baboon refuses to leave him alone, Simba asks who he is. The monkey, Rafiki, then turns the question on him. Simba says he thought he knew who he was, and now he's not so sure. Rafiki whispers to him that he knows, and repeats in his ear the chant he was singing earlier. Simba calls him "confused", to which Rafiki replies, "I'm not the one who's confused; you don't even know who you are!" Simba mockingly replies, "Oh, and I suppose you know." Surprisingly, Rafiki replies that he does, and calls him "Mufasa's boy", before running off. Simba chases him and asks the monkey if he knew his father. Rafiki corrects him telling him he knows his father. Simba, assuming Rafiki does not know, informs the monkey that he's dead. At this, Rafiki jumps up, accusing Simba of being wrong. He tells Simba he's alive, and offers to show him. Simba curiously follows Rafiki through an underground tunnel filled with vines until he comes out in a clearing. There, Rafiki instructs Simba to look into a pond; as Simba looks, he stares at his reflection. Rafiki tells him to look harder, and as Simba squints into the water, the face of Mufasa appears in front of him. Rafiki tells him that Mufasa lives inside of him. At this, Mufasa's spirit appears in the sky. Simba recognises his father; and when Mufasa accuses his son of forgetting him, he replies back, "No—how could I?" Mufasa tells him that in forgetting who he is, he has forgotten his father. Mufasa urges him to take his place in the Circle of Life. He reminds Simba that he is his son, and the one true King, before telling him to "remember". This echoes in Simba's ears, and he chases his father's disappearing formation in the sky, shouting, "Don't leave me!" After the sky returns to normal, Rafiki approaches Simba and explains to him that his past is exactly what it is—in the past. He whacks Simba on the head and tells him that it doesn't matter, as it is in the past. Simba, rubbing his sore head, tells Rafiki that it still hurts the monkey replies that the past can hurt; but you can either run from it, or learn from it. He then swipes again at Simba's head, but Simba learns and ducks, avoiding the stick. Rafiki laughs and asks Simba what he is going to do; Simba jokingly replies, "Well, first I'm gonna take your stick!" He then throws the stick and starts his journey back to Pride Rock. Eventually he becomes the Pride leader. When he gets there, he is shocked at the condition the once green and fertile land is in. The ground is dry and barren, littered with the skeletons of various animals. Simba trudges through the Pride Lands, where he is met by Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa, who have come to help him fight. After a diversion from Timon and Pumbaa, Simba and Nala sneak past the hyenas and look at Pride Rock. There, Simba instructs Nala to rally the lionesses, and turns as he hears Scar call his mother's name. Simba stays hidden until anger ripples through his body as Scar strikes his mother across the face, and he runs down to her side. At first, Sarabi does not recognise Simba; but when she realises it is her son, she nuzzles him. Simba then turns on Scar, who accuses him in front of all the lionesses that he is responsible for his father's death. Simba does not deny it, and Scar corners Simba on the edge of Pride Rock's promontory. As he reaches the edge, Simba slips off, but just manages to cling on. Scar then whispers in his ear that he is responsible for Mufasa's death. Simba, filled with anger, launches himself off the edge and pins Scar to the ground. He forces Scar to admit that he killed Mufasa just before the hyenas close in on them both, followed by the lionesses, who try and push them back. In the confusion, Simba loses Scar, but finds him again, trying to escape. He chases him to the summit of Pride Rock, where Scar pleads for mercy. He tells Simba that the whole idea was not his, but the hyenas'; the hyenas hear this and turn away in disgust. Simba agrees to not kill Scar, but repeats the words his uncle told him all those years ago: "Run. Run away, Scar; and never return." Scar begins to skulk away, apparantly obeying; but he suddenly turns around and throws burning hot embers into Simba's eyes. The two lions fight bitterly, until Scar knocks Simba to the ground. The old lion then attempts to pounce on Simba. Simba uses Nala's trick and flips Scar over his head, down onto the rock below. Simba looks down and sees Scar being killed by the hyenas he betrayed. After the battle, Simba greets his mother and Nala, before seeing Rafiki, who tells him that "It is time". Simba then climbs up Pride Rock and roars out over his kingdom. Seasons later, all the animals return to Pride Rock to welcome the birth of another cub. Simba proudly looks on as Rafiki holds his cub up for all the kingdom to see. The Lion King 1½ Although not seen, we can hear Simba say "I'm okay" after the animal pyramid falls down after "I Just Can't Wait to Be King". In the jungle, Simba proves to be a difficult cub to handle, and Timon and Pumbaa find it hard to be adoptive parents. Simba gets into all kinds of mischief, jumping down from tall trees, swimming down steep waterfalls, and spinning Timon like a play toy. He also keeps Timon up all night wanting to go to the bathroom, wanting a drink of water, the bathroom again, before having a bad dream. Although he only appears for a couple of seconds in the original film, in Hakuna Matata Timon and Pumbaa have to deal with Teenage Simba, who seems to beat them at all kinds of bug eating contests, including the longest bug belch, slug swallowing, cricket crunching, grub gulping, maggot munching, as well as the snail slurping contest shown in the film. In Hakuna Matata we see Adult Simba enjoying his life with Timon and Pumbaa in the jungle. We see him having an interesting conversation with Pumbaa about dung beetles, and we see some new footage of him and Nala in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?", as well as Timon's attempts to split the two lovers up. We also see the familiar scenes of Simba arguing with Nala and seeing his father's ghost, although the timing is a lot shorter after the arguement, happening almost instantly after he runs off. This could be counted as a mistake, although it was probably sped up for the convenience of the filmmakers, who wanted to move the film on. There are also some new shots of Simba fighting Scar, including a shot of him chasing Scar up to the top of Pride Rock, and a different angle of Simba slipping off the cliff when scar corners him and Simba forcing the truth out of Scar about his father's death. Simba also thanks Timon and Pumbaa before he climbs Pride Rock after simba triumphs over Scar, which does not appear in the original movie. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Seasons later, all the animals return to Pride Rock to welcome the birth of another of Simba's cubs. Simba proudly looks on as Rafiki holds his cub up for all the kingdom to see. In Simba's Pride, Simba now has a headstrong, rebellious cub named Kiara. He looks on proudly as she is presented to the animals at the beginning of the film. Simba has been an extremely over-protective father ever since Kopa was assumed to be killed by Zira, and when Kiara goes off to play, he advises her to stay away from the Outlands and to stay on the path he's marked for her". Nala teases Simba about Kiara's likeness to Simba when he was a cub. Simba confesses his feeling to Nala about how much trouble they got themelves into. Nala assures him that Kiara will be fine; but he sends Timon and Pumbaa after her to watch her anyway. After he realises that Kiara has sneaked away from her babysitters, he goes out to get her, finding her near the outskirts of the Outlands, and with a Outsider cub growling at her. He jumps in front of Kiara, protecting her; at the same time, Zira launches herself in front of her cub, Kovu. Simba snarls at her, and Zira mockingly gives cover-up for punishment for straying into the Pride Lands. Simba growls at her, "Take him and get out—We're finished here." Zira laughs menacingly, and replies, "Oh no, Simba; we have barely begun!" Simba takes Kiara and walks away. Simba reminds Kiara that she has got to be Queen, even though she may not want to be; he reminds her of the "Great Circle of Life'. He tells her that they are part of each other, and sings to her that they are "one". Years later on (Kiara's first hunt), Kiara pleads with her father to let her hunt on her own. Simba promises, but sends Timon and Pumbaa to watch her anyway. A few hours later, Simba paces nervously on Pride Rock, where Zazu reassures him that Kiara will be fine. Suddenly, Simba notices smoke on the horizon as Zira's plan goes into action. He races to Kiara, only to find her talking to the same cub Zira had promised would take over his throne, Kovu. Simba is roaring menacingly at Kovu when Rafiki appears and brings up the fact that Kovu saved his daughter's life. When Simba asks him why, Kovu asks to join his pride. Simba refuses; but Zazu tells him that his father's law demands all debts be paid. In repayment for his daughter's life, Simba lets Kovu join the pride on judgment, but doesn't allow him to sleep with the other lions. That night, Simba has a dream similar to the scenario in which his father was killed by his brother, Scar. In the dream, Simba tries to save his father, who is hanging on a cliff face. As he reaches down, he realises that he is also on the cliff face, and Scar is looking over him as Scar grabs his paw. Mufasa slips away. Simba looks up to see Kovu instead of Scar; then Kovu lets Simba fall, and he wakes up out of his dream. The next morning, Simba has a drink at the waterhole. Unknown to him, Kovu is behind him, ready to kill. Luckily, Kiara turns up wanting her hunting lesson, so Kovu is drawn away. That night, Simba looks down on Kiara and Kovu stargazing together, and asks his father for guidance. Nala then walks beside him and tells him to trust Kovu more. That evening, Simba lets Kovu sleep with the other lions in the cave. The next morning, Simba asks Kovu to walk with him. He explains to Kovu his side of the story about Scar. As they are walking, Zira and the other Outsiders surround them. Simba angrily snarls at Kovu, thinking this was his plan. The Outsider lionesses close in around him and he manages to throw them off. He runs into a gorge and climbs up the dam. Just as he's climbing, Nuka grabs his ankles, pulling him down. Simba pushes himself up, dislodging a log which tumbles down and crushes Nuka. Simba escapes and weakly makes his way back to Pride Rock, where he manages to whisper to Kiara what happened, before fainting. He is then carried back to Pride Rock by Pumbaa, where he wakes up. When Kovu returns, asking for forgiveness, Simba does not believe Kovu had nothing to do with the attack. He exiles Kovu, to which Kiara pleads with him to reconsider. When he refuses, she angrily yells at him, "You will never be Mufasa!" That night, the rain falls down, and Simba asks Timon and Pumbaa where Kiara is. Just as he finds out she is missing, Zazu informs him the Outsiders are on the attack. He commands Zazu to find Kiara and assembles the lionesses, ready for battle. When they approach the Outsiders, Simba gives Zira a chance to go home. Zira tells Simba that she is already home, and commands her troops to attack. After a bitter battle, Zira jumps down off her rock, ready to attack Simba herself. Just as they are about to go into combat, Kiara jumps in front of her father. She reminds him that they are "one", and there is no point fighting. Simba understands, and as his father shines down from the clouds, he nuzzles his daughter. Zira orders her daughter Vitani to attack Simba; She refuses to do so, and crosses onto his side. Zira, realising she's losing, attempts one more time to attack Simba; as she jumps for him, Kiara jumps in her way. Shocked, Simba jumps down after them, just as Zira slips away into the water below. Simba reaches his daughter and helps her back up the cliff. When Kiara is reunited with Kovu, Simba studies him and admits he was wrong, and accepts Kovu and all the Outsiders into his pride. At the end, Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kovu all walk to the top of Pride Rock and roar over their kingdom. As they do so, the sky opens up, and Simba hears Mufasa say to him, "Well done, my son. We are one." Although a very minor role in this movie, it gives the viewers an insight into what Simba's life was like while he was with Timon and Pumbaa in the jungle. Simba banished the dark lions, who became known as Outlanders, to a deserted place referred to as the Outlands for supporting Scar. The hyenas ran off, probably due to lack of support. Due to his paranoia of losing Kiara, Simba became uptight and overprotective. One day in her early childhood, Kiara had gone off to the Outlands, and Simba had to go rescue her, where he met Scar's mate Zira, who taunted Simba with the implication of the death of another cub. Simba merely took his daughter and left, and did not meet up with Zira again until some years later. When Kiara finally became an adult, Simba reluctantly allowed her to go on a hunt alone. Up until then, he would always send out Timon and Pumbaa to watch her, which he did again while Kiara was hunting. After the Outlanders, Nuka and Vitani had set the grassland on fire and Kovu began his staged rescue, Simba noticed that Kiara was in danger and went off to get her, meeting Kovu, who at the time had been trained to assassinate him. Simba, reserving judgement of Kovu, allowed him to follow him home. After finally gaining enough trust for Kovu to take a personal walk with him, Simba was ambushed by the Outlanders. Assuming Kovu had set it up, Simba regained his hatred towards dark lions, and banished Kovu. The death of Nuka, who had been crushed by a log Simba hack kicked on him, stirred up enough hatred from the Outlanders for a war to break out. Kiara had run away, and the Outlanders were now in the vicinity of Pride Rock, and coming for him. Durning the climax of the war, Kovu and Kiara returned, and convinced Simba to let go of his racism. Zira, however, didn't fare too well. Simba joined forces with the outlanders, and allowed Kovu to become his heir. Other Roles The Lion King Musical Following the success of The Lion King, Julie Taymor created the musical The Lion King. In this production, we have an insight into events that were not explored in the original film, as the main character, Simba, young and old, is in nearly all the musical numbers. But in the Broadway production, we see a slightly extended role, which includes scenes like Timon being trapped above a lake full of crocodiles, which was Simba's fault; and the song "Endless Night". Jason Raize plays Adult Simba, and Scott Irby-Ranniar plays Young Simba in the original Broadway cast of The Lion King. Early Production In early sketches, Simba still has the same liveliness and playfulness as the Simba we see in the film, although the style changes when it came to Simba's final design. The early sketches show Simba's character and characteristics such are his earmarks. These sketches also have an original "Disney style" about them, which is softened down in the final designs of all the lions in The Lion King. Interestingly enough, in the sketch on the right, Simba has cheeks similar to those of the Outsiders in Simba's Pride. An original storyline for Simba that was dropped was Teen Simba saving Nala's little brother Mheetu from a stampede in the gorge. Kingdom Hearts II In Kingdom Hearts II, when the main protagonists (Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy) explore the jungle in the Pride Lands world, Simba almost attacks them, not recognizing them as they were turned into animals due to Sora's enchanted clothes. Initially, Simba refuses to go back to the Pride Lands, stating he was "not who he used to be." His father, Mufasa, comes to him and tells him to go back; afterwards, he accompanies Sora, Donald, and Goofy to Pride Rock for a climactic battle with both the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai and Ed and Scar, who had been turned into a Heartless because of his anger and jealousy. Sora left after the successful coronation of Simba. When Sora returned, Simba had been driven into doubt by rumors of Scar's ghost. He later gained confidence and stood up to Scar's ghost, which was a manifestation of Simba's uncertainty and fear. Simba has a move with Sora that causes huge rocks to appear and strike opponents, after which he slashes foes - ending, finally, with his summon attack from the first game, Proud Roar. Cam Clarke voices Simba in the above two appearances, with an archival recording of Jonathan Taylor Thomas used for Young Simba in a flashback sequence in Kingdom Hearts II. All Voice Actors *'The Lion King (film)' - Jonathan Taylor Thomas - (cub), Matthew Broderick - (adult), Jason Weaver - (cub singing voice), Joseph Williams - (adult singing voice), Evan Saucedo - ("The Morning Report") *'The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa - (1995) - (TV series)' - Cam Clarke (adult voice) *'The Lion King (musical) - (1997)' - Scott Irby-Ranniar (cub) (original actor), Jason Raize (adult) (original actor) *'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - (1998) - (film)' - Matthew Broderick (adult), Cam Clarke (adult singing voice) *'The Lion King 1½ - (2004) - (film)' - Matt Weinberg (cub), Matthew Broderick (teenager and adult) *'Kingdom Hearts II - (2005) - (video game)' - Jonathan Taylor Thomas (cub), Cam Clarke (adult voice, English) Category:Characters Category:Lions Category:Pridelanders Category:Male Characters